Henry francis keil



(No Model.)

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atented Feb. 11, 1896.

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LATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 554,448, dated February 11, 1896.

Application led November 15, 1895. Serial No. 569,052. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY FRANCIS KEIL, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Door Closing and Opening1 Devices, of which the following` is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of door clamps and openers in which a lever having suitable studs to engage a keeper is utilized to force a door tightly to its seat when moved in one direction and to start or pry the door open when moved in the other direction, this type of invention being particularly adapted for refrigerator or other doors which require an absolutely-tight closure.

The object of my invention is to produce a simple device of the type mentioned, one which is certain in operation, of small cost, andwhich will both clamp and start the door in a direct horizontal plane without tendency to move the doory in any direction other than that for which its hinges provide.

To this end my invention consists in the construction and combination of parts, substantially as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the complete device as applied to a door and door-casing. Fig. 2 is a vertical section in the plane of line 2 2 of Fig. 1, the parts being shown in the position when the door is locked. Fig. 3 is a similar View when the door is about to be clamped shut, the parts having also very nearly this position when the door is to be started from its seat. Fig. 4 is a similar View when the door has been entirely released from its clamped position and is ready to be swung open on its hinges. Fig. 5 is a detail viewof the plate and lug for supporting the pivot of the handle-lever. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the head of the lever carrying the pins or studs. Fig. 7 is a section through the upper end of the lever and its support.

The plate l, adapted to be attached to the door, is provided with a stud 12, having a cylindrical bearing 13 for the head 3 of the lever 7, which is pivoted on said bearing and held thereon by a rivet or bolt 6, said lever having two studs or pins 4 and 5 projecting laterally from the head 3 on opposite sides of the pivotal point and parallel with the aXis of the pivot and nearly diametrically opposite each other, the pin 5 being preferably larger than the pin 4.

The plate 2, which is adapted to be attached to the door-casing, is provided with a nosing or keeper S having its under face inclined, as at 9, the outer end of this incline terminating in a substantially perpendicular face at the tip 9a. The keeper 8 at its base back of the incline 9 is undercut to form a recess for the reception of the lever-pin 5, the edge wall of this recess being preferably cam-shaped, as at 10. By ,cam-shaped I mean that the wall l0 of the recess is not concentric with the center of the pivot-pin 6 when the door is shut or nearly so.

At 11 is indicated a shoulder or stop to limit the inward movement of the lever 7, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2.

In operation, when the door is pushed inward the pin 5 rides down the incline 9 of the keeper, as indicated in Fig. 4, and automatically lifts the handle end of the lever and finally assumes about the position shown in Fig. 3. A downward and inward push on said handle causes the pin 5 to ride up over the cam 10 to the position shown in Fig. 2, and thus iirmly clamps the door in its casing. Vhen the door is to be opened, an outward pull of the handle irst carries the parts back toa position where the pin 4 will engage the lower part of the substantially perpendicular face 9, the pin 5 being at the same time carried down below the cam 10. Further movement in this direction carries the pin 4 up over and to a slight degree along the face 9, and thus forces or pries the door outward from its seat in a direct horizontal plane. It will be understood that if the incline 9 were continued to the tip of the keeper the pin 4 would strike said incline, and the movement of the lever in an outward direction would tend to force the door downward and jam it against the sill of the casing.

In Fig. 2 the line a a is drawn to indicate how far I prefer to locate the pin 4 below the line of the centers of pivot 6 and pin 5, and I will now explain the reason for this location. In the first place the plane of movement of pivot 6 should be such as to intersect the incline 9 of the keeper at a point about or a little ICO below the center of that incline, in order that when the door is being' closed the pin 5 will ride down the incline and then start up behind the keeper, and the angle of the incline should be about as shown by the line Z) ZJ in Fig. 2, in order that the lever may automatically operate as just described. Now if the center of pin 4 Was located on the line ct a the said pin would strike the incline, when opening the door, before the pin 5 had passed down far enough to clear the lower end of the cam lO. Therefore the said pin i is located below the line a a., substantially as shown and described.

Having now described my invention, what I claim is In a door-latch, the combination of a keeper or hook having a substantially perpendicu lar face and inclining downwardly and rear- Wardly therefrom and provided with a recess back of said inclined portion, and a lever having a head provided With a stud 5 for en gagin g under the keeper in the recess thereof and a stud 4L for impinging on the said perpendicular face of the keeper, whereby the doo1` is 

